Workers, tradesmen, sportsmen, hobbyists and others must carry and retain tools or other supplies within easy reach to accomplish their various tasks. Ideally, a means for transporting tools and accessories should minimize strain on the user""s back and over-heating, while enabling the user to use readily available tool and accessory pouches.
Tool belts have been used to carry tools and other items and a great many tool pouches and other accessory carriers have been adapted for attachment to them. Unfortunately however, tool belts generally create an uneven strain on the back of the user and are often bulky and uncomfortable to wear. So though using a tool belt may provide a user a wide selection of tool and accessory pouches, it is at a cost to the user""s back, legs and general comfort.
Utility vests, by contrast, generally are more comfortable to wear and create less strain on the back and legs of a user. However, these do not provide the user with the wide selection of generic and readily available tool pouches available for use with tool belts, requiring instead that a user purchase pouches with specialized means of attachment to the vest. Additionally, many of the tool vests on the market today, are constructed of leather or heavy canvas materials that have an insulating effect and do not enable a user to cool properly.
Information relevant to attempts to address these problems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,650 to Baacke, U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,931 to Trawinski, U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,315 to Crane, U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,421 to Barbour, U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,456 to Elin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,369,526 to Clutts, and U.S. Pat. 4,106,121 to Belson. However, each one of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages:
(a) they provide only limited (and often specialized) means of attaching various tool or accessory pouches and thus do not allow the use of generally available tool belt type pouches, requiring instead that a user invest in a new set of pouches;
(b) they do not minimize strain to a user""s back and legs; and,
(c) they are insulating and restrict the ability of a user to cool down.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a utility vest that minimizes strain and insulation to a user, while enabling the user to attach to it a wide selection of already available tool and accessory pouches.
The present invention is directed to a utility vest that satisfies these needs. A utility vest having features of the present invention comprises a vest portion having a back portion and two front side portions defining two armholes, a neck opening and a reinforced bottom edge along which are spaced more than one aperture, and one or more adapter portions. The adapter portions are comprised of a rectangular staking plate on which are mounted two or more attachment means for securing the adapter portion to the reinforced bottom edge of the vest portion by insertion of the attachment means into the apertures at a location selected by a user. The staking plate is sized in width to enable the tool pouch""s tool belt type attachment means to be fitted thereon prior to attachment of the adapter portion to the vest portion. In this way, the utility vest will have attached to it one or more tool pouches having a tool belt type attachment means.
In another aspect, the vest portion is comprised of a strong and durable mesh material to enable ventilation of a user while supporting the weight of the tool pouches and their contents.
In another aspect, the apertures include reinforcement grommets to add strength to the apertures and to enable secure attachment of the one or more adapter portions when their attachment means are inserted therein.
In another aspect, the staking plate comprises a rigid material able to hold a slight curve to enable its proper fitting to the bottom edge of the vest portion and may optionally be sized in length to fit the entire length of the bottom edge of the vest portion.
In another aspect, one or more pocket means and pocket attachment means for detachably securing said pocket means to the front side portions of the vest are provided.
In another aspect, an insertable extender portion is provided to extend the girth of the vest portion to enable its fit over heavier clothing.
In another aspect, a method for attaching one or more tool pouches having a tool belt type attachment means to a utility vest is provided, comprising providing a vest portion having a back portion and two front side portions defining two armholes, a neck opening and a reinforced bottom edge along which are spaced more than one aperture; providing one or more adapter portions, having a rectangular staking plate on which are mounted two or more attachment means for securing the adapter portions to the reinforced bottom edge of the vest portion, the staking plate being sized in width to enable the at least one tool pouch having a tool belt type attachment means to be fitted thereon prior to attachment of the adapter portion to the vest portion; fitting the tool belt type attachment means of the tool pouch onto the staking plate of the adapter portion; and, detachably securing the adapter portion and tool pouch fitted thereon to the reinforced bottom edge of the vest by inserting the attachment means in at least two of the apertures at a selected location, thereby attaching to the utility vest one or more tool pouches otherwise adapted for use with a tool belt.
Several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
a) means for attaching tool belt type tool and accessory pouches to a utility vest so as to enable a user of the vest to use their own or other readily available generic tool belt type pouches, thus avoiding the need to purchase pouches with specialized attachment means;
b) means for providing a durable and strong utility vest that optimizes cooling while supporting the weight of attached tool pouches and their contents;
c) means for enabling the easy expansion of a utility vest""s girth so as to enable its use over heavy clothing so that access to pockets and pouches remains unobstructed; and,
d) means for minimizing strain on the user""s back by providing a utility vest instead of a tool belt, the vest allowing attachment of tool pouches at variable locations along its bottom edge so as to distribute weight evenly.